logo
Eddie the echidna released after surviving swim from Bribie Island to the mainland

Eddie the echidna released after surviving swim from Bribie Island to the mainland

A juvenile echidna which is believed to have completed an epic one-kilometre swim in waters off Queensland's Sunshine Coast has been released back into the wild.
The female echidna, nicknamed Eddie, was returned to bushland on Wednesday afternoon after spending weeks in care.
Eddie captured the imagination of residents after she was found in an exhausted state on a rock wall at Golden Beach last month.
The echidna was believed to be the same one spotted a few weeks earlier stranded on the battered tip of Bribie Island where the ocean has broken through in three places since 2022.
Eddie was released at Lighthouse Reach, about 5km south of the breakthroughs, with the location selected to give the native animal the best chance of survival.
The release was coordinated by Pumicestone Passage Catchment Management Board (PPCMB) spokesperson Jen Kettleton-Butler and licensed wildlife carer Sybelle Foxcroft, with support from the Caloundra Coast Guard.
"The last time I saw her, she was on her last legs. She is [now] looking fit as a fiddle," Ms Kettleton-Butler said.
Caloundra resident Dave Cairns found the echidna lying on its back against a rock wall on May 24.
He contacted Ms Kettleton-Butler, who had previously filmed what appeared to be the same echidna during erosion inspections on Bribie Island.
The animal was taken to the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital, where she was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia — a condition linked to water inhalation.
Eddie required round-the-clock care in the hospital's intensive care unit, with a spokesperson saying she had "quickly stolen the hearts of everyone here".
While it's a rare sight, echidnas are able to swim by using their back feet to paddle and steer themselves and using their tiny snouts like a snorkel.
Wildlife experts believe the animal may have been swept off the island by rising tides, or could have entered the water in search of food.
Before the rescue, Ms Kettleton-Butler and Ms Foxcroft had conducted dusk searches along the isolated northern spit, concerned for the echidna's safety as the land continued to erode.
The echidna was not located at the time, but other wildlife, including reptiles and small marsupials, were observed on the ever-shrinking tip, which is now approximately 400 metres long and 20 metres wide.
Coastal scientists monitoring the site have warned the entire tip could be lost over time, along with the reptiles and small marsupials that still inhabit it.
"Eddie is our ray of hope," Ms Kettleton-Butler said.
The state government recently allocated $20 million for urgent repair works to the island, which also acts as a natural barrier against storm surges for low-lying communities on the mainland.
The works will involve pumping approximately 100,000 cubic metres of sand to infill the two most recent breakthroughs triggered by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred earlier this year.
An inner sandbank will also be constructed inside the first breakthrough, caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Seth in 2022.
The sandbank is aimed at reducing the wave energy entering the Pumicestone Passage.
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said Caloundra residents had been "rightly concerned about community impacts".
"We are taking swift action to ensure they are protected," Mr Bleijie said.
Ms Kettleton-Butler said it was a "bandaid" ahead of the next storm season.
"These are just sacrificial sand dunes. If we get hit by a storm, there's no doubt they'll get washed away," she said.
"But the whole idea is that these are the temporary measures that they can implement right now while we design the long-term solution, [which] is going to take a lot of planning, a lot of community consultation, and also a fair bit to get through the approval process."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Girl, 10, found dead by sister, 6, after bullying
Girl, 10, found dead by sister, 6, after bullying

News.com.au

timean hour ago

  • News.com.au

Girl, 10, found dead by sister, 6, after bullying

A ten-year-old girl who suicided in her New South Wales south coast home was found by her little sister in yet another tragic death related to school bullying. Emergency crews rushed to the home on July 9 after the six-year-old girl told her mum she thought her sister was dead in her bedroom. The mum frantically tried to open the bedroom door but struggled because of the weight of her daughter's lifeless body on the other side. When she finally got the door open she found her daughter unconscious. The family tried to revive the little girl with CPR while they waited for emergency services. She was flown to Sydney Children's Hospital. Paramedics were able to regain her heart rate however the girl remained unresponsive. She died two days later. Police at the scene were told by her family that the little girl had recently been bullied at school. The news of another child dying has devastated Kelly O'Brien who lost her 12-year-old daughter and 'best friend' Charlotte last year. 'Hearing another angel has entered heaven truly breaks my heart,' she told 'They are babies. We all think how can this happen? They are too young, well it's happening over and over again.' Kelly said there was now 'no age' where children are not at risk, as long as they are old enough to use the internet. 'The fact that children feel so down trodden that they don't want to be here is hard enough but the fact they are a Google search away from finding a permanent solution to a temporary problem makes me sick.' Kelly said she had 'no idea where exactly' Charlotte found her information but knows she 'didn't head to the local library and ask for a book on how to end her own life'. 'There is an epidemic of youth suicide right now and to be apart of the statistics is an existence of excruciating pain. 'There are nine suicides a day in Australia. Charlotte passed away on the 9th of the 9th we believe just after 9pm. She was passed away for nine hours before I found her in the morning. If that is not a sign we need to bring these numbers down I don't know what is.' 'I miss Charlotte. I grieve for Charlotte. I love Charlotte. I will spend the rest of my life trying to safe guard others in her name.' Police investigations into the death of the 10-year-old girl are continuing. Kelly is one of hundreds of parents, students and teachers across Australia who has made submission to the Federal Government's Anti-Bullying Rapid Review. The plan is to develop a national approach to addressing bullying in Australian schools. The final report of the Review will be presented to all Australian education ministers in coming months. Sydney mum Jodie Carter, who lost her 12-year-old son Hamish to suicide, has also made a submission to the inquiry as has Sydney actor Clare McCann whose son Atreyu earlier this year.

Breakfast Wrap: What's in the government's childcare safety legislation
Breakfast Wrap: What's in the government's childcare safety legislation

ABC News

time7 hours ago

  • ABC News

Breakfast Wrap: What's in the government's childcare safety legislation

Today the federal government will introduce legislation to crack down on childcare centres that fail to keep children safe. The legislation is yet to be released publicly, but the government has flagged how it could target operators who have serious safety breaches. The Breakfast Wrap will hear from the federal minister for early childhood education. Then, South Australia's toxic algal bloom outbreak continues to deepen and cause division within federal parliament. Environment Minister Murray Watt has pledged $14 million to assist the state, but has stopped short of declaring it a natural disaster, triggering a call from the Greens to examine what criteria is used to declare these events. And the UN says more than a thousand people have been killed by Israel's military while attempting to get food since the U-S and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation system began in late May. It comes as one veteran Israeli journalist claims there's evidence building that Israel has a clear and deliberate plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza. Recap the morning's news, politics and global affairs with the Breakfast Wrap

Girl, 7, contemplates suicide, reaches our for help
Girl, 7, contemplates suicide, reaches our for help

News.com.au

time9 hours ago

  • News.com.au

Girl, 7, contemplates suicide, reaches our for help

A seven-year-old girl made a phone call late one night telling a stranger she was thinking about killing herself. That call saved her life. The little schoolgirl, who is still in regular contact with her professional counsellor at Kids Helpline, is just one of 4000 Australian children aged five to nine who reach out for help every year. 'That's a lot of really young people who have the courage to ask for help,' Kids Helpline CEO Tracy Adams told 'We take our role to provide them with free, professional support any hour of the day extremely seriously,' she said. 'I really celebrate that they have that courage and absolute ability to recognise in themselves that they need to talk to someone and help them through what's worrying them. 'The fact they understand themselves well enough to do that is very special. They should never feel not worthy and not valued. We have built a whole service for children and young people, not anyone else, so that's how much we value them.' Last year the service carried out 135,000 counselling responses to people from the age of five to 25. Three per cent of all those contacts were made from children between five and nine years old. Bullying is one of the key issues affecting the young children who reach out. The epidemic is claiming lives of children turning to suicide as an escape. This month a 10-year-old girl died in her bedroom on the NSW South Coast. 'We are not going to solve the bullying issue if we don't engage with young people,' Ms Adams said. 'It's really about building respect, celebrating diversity and helping students and young people to embrace their differences, celebrate them rather than feeling like differences make children a target.' Ms Adams said the support service, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, not only helps young people but 'walks beside families who have suffered great tragedy'. One such family is Kellie and Mat O'Brien from Sydney who lost their 12-year-old daughter Charlotte to suicide last year. The O'Briens are holding a Charlotte's Wish charity event in August this year to raise much needed funds for the service so no child ever has their call unanswered. 'In the wake of our unimaginable loss, we are honouring her legacy by channelling our heartbreak into action,' Mat O'Brien said. 'We aim to strengthen Kids Helpline's capacity to engage, inform, and support children, young people, parents, carers, and educators. It's crucial for everyone to have access to the right support, at the right time, in the right way, and at no cost – 24/7,' he said. 'Our goal is to create a stronger safety net for children and young people, enabling them to access the right support when they need it most. We truly want no child or young person to feel alone, unheard, or helpless in the face of bullying. 'By working together to honour Charlotte, we believe we can create lasting change in the lives of children, young people, and their families.' Mr O'Brien said that while bullying is a complex issue, doing nothing isn't an option.' The charity is also having a Giving Day on Thursday, hoping to raise $500,000 to allow for another 9000 counselling contacts a year.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store